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Who are we? Rated #1 Programs

Designed and created by industry professionals and makers (NASA’s Singularity University graduate, engineers, entrepreneurs, teachers and speakers).

MakerKids was named “Best Kids’ Workshops” by Toronto Life Magazine. Thousands of kids have taken our STEM programs in Coding, Robotics and Minecraft. Our Camps, After-School & Weekend Programs and Birthday Parties empower children to be creators, not just consumers.

Who are MakerKids?

Many of our students have started their own businesses, taken on leadership roles at schools and have been featured on national TV! Kids have made robotics inventions, video games and more. Imagine what your child could make?

Space in our programs is limited, so register ASAP to avoid disappointment.

Hear from more parents, schools and our staff!

The MakerKids Difference

Learn more about the MakerKids Difference and our approach to learning.

A Note From Our CEO, Jennifer Turliuk

When I was in 6th grade, I was given an enrichment assignment by my English teacher: to make a website for my book report. So at 12 years old, I coded my first website using HTML and drag-and-drop software. After receiving my grade on the project (an A+! Woo hoo!), I put the website aside and forgot about it for a while. But a few months later, my brother came down the stairs one day holding a magazine and saying “Hey Jenn, didn’t you make a website called Jenn’s Harry Potter?”

My site had been featured in a major children’s magazine! And they called it “the most comprehensive Harry Potter image website on the internet”. I logged back onto the site for the first time in months, and saw that it had hundreds of thousands of views! This was an extremely empowering moment for me – it helped me realize that I could make things that many other people could use. The increased confidence that I developed as a result of this experience helped me to get through the bullying I was facing at the time, improve my grades and my dedication to school, and even start some small businesses outside of school, such as a jewelry selling company and a private swimming lessons company.

Later, I went to university and was accepted to a prestigious Graduate Studies Program based at NASA called Singularity University, where we learned about exponential technologies such as 3D printing and robotics and how to apply them to education. Looking back, I realized that the experience that I had when I was 12 years old was pivotal in my life – I actually think that it was the moment I decided that I wanted to be an entrepreneur. I did some research and found studies showing that experiences like this in childhood can have a vast impact on a person’s life and that many other successful professionals and entrepreneurs had similar experiences in their childhood. So I decided that I wanted to help facilitate more experiences like this for more children, to help them realize that they can be creators (not just consumers), and to help them realize their potential.

In the many years that we’ve been running our camps and weekly programs, we’ve seen kids presenting their MakerKids projects on national TV, starting their own businesses with the skills they’ve learned (e.g. one 10-year-old makes, sells and fixes audio speakers in his neighbourhood), and most importantly – improving their confidence, social skills, and engagement at school. I hope your child will join us for an adventure in realizing what’s possible. The teacher who took an interest in me helped show me what I was capable of – and that’s what we’re trying to do for your children, every day.

See you soon.

Jennifer

About Jennifer, CEO MakerKids

Jennifer Turliuk is the founder and CEO of MakerKids, the first and largest makerspace for kids in the world. Jennifer’s work has been featured in the New York Times, Forbes, Huffington Post, Fast Company, CBS national TV, and more. Her career highlights include doing marketing and PR for the Matterform 3D Scanner crowdfunding campaign (which raised over $471K – the most-funded Indiegogo campaign outside the US), helping build a 3D printer for a music video, launching an SMS-based disaster relief project during Hurricane Sandy, being selected as a Startup Chile entrepreneur (as part of a program run by the Government of Chile to foster entrepreneurship locally), creating her own self-education program which involved being 1 of the top 6 finalists in a competition to shadow Dave McClure of 500 Startups, leading the Canadian launch of Tide Pods (P&G’s biggest launch in 27 years), running Canada’s largest business plan competition (the Queen’s Entrepreneurs’ Competition), writing one of Forbes Greatest Hits articles, speaking on a panel discussion with Peter Thiel (founder of Paypal ), doing a TEDx talk in Spanish, being invited to join MaiTai (a group of pro kiteboarders and entrepreneurs), and DJing for Red Bull. She was selected from amongst thousands to attend the Graduate Studies Program at NASA’s Singularity University, and went to business school at Queen’s University. She has also spoken at MakerCon New York, Maker Faire Rome, and keynoted MakerCon Norway. She was awarded an honorary degree from Humber College for her contributions to society. In her spare time, she does independent marketing and strategy consulting and enjoys salsa dancing, extreme sports (such as kiteboarding), improv, 3D printing, and building electronic creations

Our Background

We’ve had thousands of kids participate in our programs, and tens of thousands at offsite events. We run programs at schools throughout the GTA, such as Toronto French School, Kingsway College, and more. We’ve developed curriculum for Intel and trained staff from the Toronto Public Library and various school boards. MakerKids has been featured in major media such as Wired, CTV and the Globe and Mail. We’ve been invited to speak at SXSW, Maker Faire, MakerCon, and more. Our Board of Advisors includes Massimo Banzi (the CEO of Arduino).

Our Approach

Following the principles of the maker movement, we empower children to learn to make their ideas reality. We use real platforms – in our Robotics program we use Arduino, a microcontroller that was used to prototype the Pebble smartwatch and Square credit card reader. One child made a project that turns on the electronic water heater at his cottage from afar, so it is nice and warm by the time he and his family arrive. If a child asks if we can do something in their project for them, we instead teach them how to do it themselves. From video games to servers, kids get to make awesome things that they can be proud of – and they learn transferable skills that will help them throughout their lives (technical and social and emotional competencies). Parents have reported improved confidence, social skills and engagement at school. MakerKids is a place where kids can feel at home and for them to shine.

Location

We have an amazing space in Bloor West Village (2451 Bloor St W, Toronto – at Jane and Bloor, just south of Jane subway station). We are a nut-free location – please do not bring nuts to our space. We are running summer camps at the York School by St. Clair station and at Ashbury College in Ottawa! We also do programs at schools – contact info@makerkids.com to arrange a program at your school.

Don’t see a location near you? Request your city here!

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